Living in Quartzsite, Arizona: Our Second Winter in the Desert

We made it back to Quartzsite, Arizona, and this time we’re spending our second winter in the desert.

When we arrived just before Thanksgiving, one of the first things we noticed was how many more RVers were already here compared with the same time the previous year. The desert was filling up early, and it looked like we weren’t the only ones ready for another Quartzsite winter.

After our first Quartzsite video, we received a lot of comments and questions. Some people love Quartzsite. Others can’t imagine why anyone would want to spend months parked in the dusty Arizona desert.

And that’s okay.

We’re certainly not here to convince everyone that they should come to Quartzsite. We like it here, but that doesn’t mean everyone will.

What we can do is share what we’ve experienced after spending two winters here, including the good, the not-so-good, and some of the questions people have asked us about safety, boondocking and the Quartzsite community.

Why We Came Back to Quartzsite

Quartzsite isn’t exactly a traditional winter vacation destination.

There are no palm-lined beaches or waterfront RV resorts. It’s dusty. You’re camping in the desert. Depending on where you park, your nearest neighbor might be right beside you or quite a distance away.

But Quartzsite has something else.

Community.

Every winter, thousands of RVers arrive in the Arizona desert. Some are snowbirds escaping colder climates. Others are full-time RVers. Some come specifically for the famous Quartzsite RV Show or the gem shows.

And plenty of people simply come because they enjoy being here.

We’re among them.

Is Quartzsite Safe?

One of the subjects that came up repeatedly after our first video was crime.

People warned us about theft and told us we needed to be careful about leaving things outside our RV.

Our experience has been different.

We’ve never had anything stolen in Quartzsite, and we personally don’t know anyone who has.

That doesn’t mean crime never happens. Quartzsite is no different from any other community or boondocking area in that respect.

Our approach is the same one we use whenever we’re camping somewhere new: pay attention to your surroundings.

If you pull into a boondocking area and something doesn’t feel right, move.

That’s one of the great advantages of traveling with your home. You have wheels.

There are many places to camp around Quartzsite, including both Long Term Visitor Areas and shorter-term BLM camping areas. If you don’t feel comfortable with the people or activity around one location, you can find another.

We’ve been fortunate to have wonderful neighbors and have always felt comfortable where we’ve camped.

Choosing Your Neighborhood in the Desert

One thing newcomers may not realize is that Quartzsite develops its own little neighborhoods.

Groups often camp together because they share something in common.

You may find owners of a particular brand of motorhome gathering together, clubs meeting in the desert, groups of friends returning to the same location each winter, or people who have simply become neighbors year after year.

You don’t own your favorite patch of desert, though.

We learned that ourselves when we returned hoping to get the same campsite we’d enjoyed before. Someone else had already taken it.

So we parked nearby.

As it turned out, the people occupying “our” spot were perfectly nice, and our dog General enjoyed playing with their dogs.

That’s part of boondocking. You arrive, find an available place that works for you, set up camp and meet your neighbors.

The Quartzsite Community

The community is probably our favorite part of wintering in Quartzsite.

People help one another here.

We saw an incredible example of that during our first winter when a travel trailer caught fire not far from where we were camping.

The trailer belonged to a mother traveling with her young children. Thankfully, they weren’t injured.

A couple of days later, we went over to see whether there was anything we could do to help.

By the time we arrived, there was already an enormous pile of donated items waiting for her—tents, clothing, blankets and other necessities.

People throughout the community had come together to help someone many of them had never even met.

The town helped her as well, making sure she and her children had somewhere to stay.

That wasn’t the only story we heard about Quartzsite residents and winter visitors helping someone who needed it.

It’s one of the things that has impressed us most about this place.

A Lesson About Spare Keys

The trailer fire also taught us something practical.

The woman’s vehicle keys had apparently been inside the trailer when it caught fire, leaving her unable to move her tow vehicle afterward.

That prompted us to get an extra key made for our truck.

We now keep a spare vehicle key securely hidden outside the RV so that if there were ever a fire or another emergency and we couldn’t retrieve our regular keys, we’d still have a way to access and move the truck.

Hopefully we’ll never need it.

But it’s one of those little lessons you pick up from life on the road.

What About Crime Concerns?

If you’re particularly concerned about a certain camping area, don’t rely entirely on stories you’ve heard online.

Ask locally.

We spoke with a local police officer about areas around Quartzsite and learned that law enforcement can provide information about places where they’ve experienced more problems.

Conditions can also change from one year to another or even during different events.

That’s much more useful than assuming every camping area around Quartzsite is either completely safe or terribly dangerous.

We’ve always felt comfortable where we’ve stayed, but someone else’s experience could certainly be different.

Quartzsite Isn’t for Everyone

We like Quartzsite, but let’s be clear about one thing:

It’s dusty.

Very dusty.

If you have problems with desert dust or allergies, spending months boondocking here might not be your idea of paradise.

And if you want manicured RV resort sites, green grass and full hookups outside your door, there are probably other winter destinations that will suit you better.

Quartzsite has its own personality.

That’s exactly why some people love it—and why others don’t.

There’s More to Quartzsite Than the RV Show

A lot of people associate Quartzsite almost entirely with the huge January RV Show.

That’s certainly a major event, but winter life here involves much more than that.

There are music jams, concerts, dances, clubs, classes and holiday activities happening throughout the season.

During our second winter, we even found a ham radio group meeting regularly, along with opportunities for people interested in getting their ham radio license.

The local newspaper is a good resource for discovering what’s happening around town, especially if you’re going to be staying for several weeks or months.

The gem shows are another major attraction, and their schedules don’t always coincide exactly with the RV Show.

If you’re planning a winter visit around a particular event, check the dates before you arrive rather than assuming everything happens during the same week.

Making Friends in the Desert

Quartzsite can be surprisingly social.

Sometimes all it takes is saying hello.

During this trip, we had a woman camping near us whom we hadn’t really met. We occasionally saw one another but hadn’t spoken.

Then Ed noticed her working under the hood of her truck and realized she was having trouble.

He went over to see if she needed help.

Suddenly we knew her name, she knew ours, and instead of simply being the person camped next door, she was our neighbor.

That’s how a lot of friendships seem to start out here.

You have to be willing to reach out a little.

What We’ve Learned After Two Winters in Quartzsite

Our second winter reinforced much of what we discovered during our first.

Quartzsite is what you make of it.

You can come for the RV Show, the gem shows, inexpensive desert camping, warmer winter temperatures or simply because you want to spend time around other people who understand the RV lifestyle.

For us, one of the greatest attractions continues to be the people.

There’s something pretty remarkable about watching this enormous temporary community appear in the desert every winter. People arrive from all over the country with different rigs, different backgrounds and different reasons for being here.

Yet there’s an immediate thing they have in common:

They understand this lifestyle.

And when someone needs help, it’s amazing how quickly people can come together.

Would We Spend Another Winter in Quartzsite?

Absolutely.

Quartzsite isn’t perfect, and we wouldn’t tell anyone that it is.

It’s dusty. It’s crowded during the biggest events. Boondocking isn’t everyone’s idea of a comfortable winter.

But we’ve met good people, enjoyed the freedom of desert camping and experienced a sense of community here that keeps bringing us back.

For us, Quartzsite has become much more than somewhere to park the RV for the winter.

It’s a place where we feel at home.

We’ll see you down the road…and Over the Hills!

Continue the Journey

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